


Convoluted, Inconspicuous Stitches

by Skelerin



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fate-Altering Words/speech, Hell, Miscommunication, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past mentions of minor character death, Psychological Trauma, does danmaku even count as violence, mentions of Lunar War, selective mutism, too many realms to properly tag + travel between them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22543966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skelerin/pseuds/Skelerin
Summary: For the first time in thousands of years, Sagume felt something different - an emotion she failed to recognize. An emotion she failed to verbalize.It's at that point where things start breaking at the seams - and with them, an age-old facade of purity.
Relationships: Kishin Sagume & Doremy Sweet
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I had in mind for quite some time now, but only started writing a few weeks ago. Apologies in advance for any OOC behavior, planning on ironing that out soon.

A soft cyan-purple glow fills the dark room for a minute, filtering through the half-shut blinds. It casts eerie shadows onto the walls, outlining the objects strewn across the wooden floor. With a click, the door to the adjacent bathroom opens slowly, almost as taxed as the hands on its handle. As the door shoves aside an alarm clock, humming to nobody in particular, the person trudging into the room carefully picks up a fallen pillow, before glancing around the room. There's a mechanical whine coming from somewhere, almost too faint to hear, but she cannot determine its source. _I'll deal with it later_ , she thinks, taking off her jacket and collapsing onto the bed.

With insults cutting through the thin air like knives, she rolls onto her back, stark-white wing fanned out, a few of the feathers singed around the edges. Her shirt has a tear in it around the stomach, but it’s not as bad as the blood seeping through another rip on her forearm, a wound from her earlier battle with the shrine maiden. It would've been more comfortable to bandage it, or at least get out of the shirt altogether, but Sagume has had too much on her shoulders to pay the minor injury much heed. As a spirit, oni, and god - among many other things – it didn’t affect her as much as she appeared to be.

What affected her, however, was the tiring task of having to guard an entire, ungrateful capital by herself. The residents of the Lunar Capital had just returned from the dream world, materializing into their beds without a single doubt that they'd been in an alternative world for so long. Sure, the lunarians would still be asleep for a few weeks or so until the impurity is gone from the surface of the moon, but despite that, Sagume had to ensure none of them noticed the scorch marks on the marble floors… chipped pillars, or fleeing fairies around the capital's borders by the time they awoken. Doremy, while enthusiastic she no longer had to deal with the rabbits, had assured her that night was the best time to relocate them back into their home, though the Lunar Capital's nights spanned merely a few hours, so it left her a very small window of opportunity.

Now, in the comfort of her bed, Sagume was more than ready to slip into an aeon-long slumber. Forget about the rabbits and the sages and everything to burden her shoulders since her ascension. They weren't even worth the trouble; the sages had to be talked into realizing genocide is bad, for heaven's sake. It was agonizing, to say the least, with her already impaired speech abilities, and the dream ruler's budding frustration, but somehow she made it work through a convoluted miracle.

Despite her diplomatic achievement, she wasn’t even going to think about her report tomorrow; she wasn’t thrilled to hear what scathing comments the higher-ups surely had to make. She closes her eyes, ignoring the sharp sting around their corners, and drags part of the blanket over herself, fully intent on getting a few comforting hours of sleep before somebody decides to-

“Lady Sagume?”

Sitting up, a flicker of uneasiness flares up in the Lunarian’s stomach. Were the sages’ agents already here? Why would they be asking for her at such a late hour? She watches the door carefully, anticipating Yorihime or Toyohime to pace in with a platoon of rabbit guards, before the distant call soon clears into a soft, melodic voice. It’s easily recognizable as Doremy Sweet’s, and Sagume lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, collapsing back onto the bed with relief.

It was just Doremy, energetic, snappy at times, a bit of an oddball, but a nice change of company from the stony, unforgiving faces of her superiors. As the tension drains out of the lunarian's body, it's quickly replaced by an overwhelming wave of exhaustion - It didn't help that the pain from her wounds was starting to kick in too...

A set of soft footsteps echo from down the hall, before the door swings open. “I think I'm done with the relocation- ... Oh." The ruler of dreams pauses mid-sentence, seeing that she interrupted her acquaintance's fleeting moment of calm. Her voice lowers considerably, and she gently tiptoes around the room, making sure to dodge the many items on the floor. "Sorry for barging in, I wanted to check if I missed anything during the move but you... Had the list..." Trailing off, the room is plunged into silence once more, and Sagume cracks open an eyelid to meet Doremy's worried face. "Did something happen?" The one-winged deity only raises a questioning brow in response to the dream ruler's question, and Doremy makes a waving gesture with her hands as she elaborates. "Your room is in ruins, your bedside cabinet seems to have exploded and..."

Despite the clear exhaustion in her voice, Sagume does her best to sound reassuring. “Getting it replaced later is a preferable option.” She said, with a glance towards the singed remains next to the headstand. Doremy, albeit confused, seems to find comfort in Sagume’s cryptic words and resumes her search for the list.

“So, it sure nice to be rid of all those fairies, don’t you think?” she says, inspecting the remains of the cabinet. The lunarian goddess hums in agreement, quickly disinterested in the other’s antics, idly listening to the gentle pit-patter of water drops outside. The thick layer of ice, which had formed around the capital, was beginning to thaw out, creating an artificial state of rainfall. The thick mist to settle onto the streets was still present though, and Sagume could barely make out the outline of the garden’s peach trees from within it. She can hear the Baku shuffle a few objects around, what sounded like a charred block of papers, the clatter of a half-melted stamp, and the familiar whine of what surely was a damaged, blackened yin-yang orb. "They drove me insane with their constant meddling."

"When are we ever rid of them?" Sagume asks, not expecting an answer, but she gets one anyway as Doremy helpfully hands her the wailing object. The Baku wasn't a lunar technology expert, but she must've noted how the orbs trailed behind Sagume like a flock of hatchlings. After all, everyone seemed to note that.

“Oh, the shrine maiden kicked them out of the Dream World pretty fast- which makes me wonder why I even bothered to maintain the replica for so long.” A curious, yet sly expression finds its way onto the Dream ruler’s face as she recalls the events; savoring the small jab she took at the other's repeated delays. Sagume would be rude to not let her have it, not after she put every physical and metaphorical backbone of hers into the replica capital. “She also tried to beat me up… but at least she helped dispose of the fairies and take that load off my shoulders so I didn’t mind it a lot!” She says as her shoulders lose what tension they held, watching as Sagume fiddles with the object in her hands, opting to idly listen to the dream-eater's search.

She wasn't going to admit she forgot where the list is in this lifetime, and she was glad Doremy was too distracted by the chaotic mess her private quarters were in to ask.

Catching sight of a smattering of white under the bed, Doremy blinks as she curiously peers under it only to spot the poorly clipped sheets of paper she was so desperately seeking. The scrawly handwriting is near-illegible, but still competent for what small time-frame they had to work with. Sagume could've done a better job at tidying the list up had she prepared in advance, but naturally, the lunarian forgot to do that **too** \- having to rush the whole process with a platoon of lampads on her tail. One could never imagine the ever-so composed lunarian deity was such a scatterbrain, but life has its wonders. "There we go! Why didn't you say it was here the whole time?"

"You never asked."

Not taking her eyes off the yin-yang device, the lunarian's response almost sounds like an idle chirp. _Oddly fitting,_ Doremy thinks, not knowing what divine punishment she'd most likely receive if she dared say she likened Sagume to the birds lounging around the dream world once.

"I... guess that slipped my mind, but it was more fun this way." Flipping through the hastily written pages, she hums happily. "Everything seems to be in order and no fate was catastrophically destroyed - naturally, since _you_ did all the logistics." There's a small sparkle of... praise? Whatever that shone through her words was a little strange for the other to hear, mostly because she wasn't used to it. Sagume's passive grip on the orb tightens slightly as she shifts onto her side, unsure of what to say. Something ancient, a feeling she wasn't accustomed to anymore was invoked within her, and it caught her off guard - she didn't know how to verbalize it.

However, Doremy spots the cut on the other's arm and feels compelled to ask, a hand instinctively reaching out towards the Lunarian. "You're hurt-" -only to get instantly shut down.

"It's nothing." The strange emotion burns out as fast as it ignited, and a part of the lunarian is guilty yet grateful for that.

"It doesn't really look like nothing..." The faint worry in the dream ruler's dejected voice picks at the cracks in Sagume's emotional wall, and almost subconsciously, she reflects the words as soon as they reach her ears. Whatever the following conversation entailed, she didn't want to dabble in just yet. Nothing good came out of talking in her tired state, anyway. Being weary meant a bigger chance of slipping up, and she wasn't going to risk a stray word permanently damaging Doremy's emotional state.

"I don't have the energy for it, and neither do you." She mutters, absently clutching at the rip in her sleeve. There's an unspoken finality in her words, and the other catches onto it quickly enough. Doremy, while not understanding the other's internal reasoning, couldn't blame the one-winged goddess for being brazen anyway, she was just tired and in dire need of a rest.

“Right…” With all credit due to the Lunarian's assertions, they don’t make the worry culminating within her any comforting. Something within Doremy still attempted to find common ground with Sagume, even if she were a being of very few interests and words. The ruler of Dreams often found herself struggling for words to say to the - partially - lunar goddess, often finding herself trifled by something as mundane and trivial as a paper cut.

Was it an easy matter, simply to have a meaningful conversation with her outside of the realm of dreams? Not at all, did it discourage Doremy in the slightest? Not at all.

If anything, she enjoyed the Lunarian's company greatly, even if the communication barrier between them possessed the power to vaporize her in an instant. She would tolerate being vaporized if scaling that barrier soothed the other's fatigue, but Sagume preferred to be left alone at times like this - and who was she to contradict the goddess' wishes? With a small, friendly smile upon her features, she makes her way towards the door. "Enjoy your rest and sweet dreams." She says, to which Sagume responds with a quiet gaze that accompanied her for a while, silently bidding her farewell.

A part of her regretted shutting down the other, but what could she do. If the ruler of dreams suspected something else was at play, she could just view the lunarian's unfiltered subconscious mind. After all, her dreams were constantly on show for the other to see – even the ones she preferred nobody looked at, and it was a wonder that Doremy didn’t bring it up in conversation at all. Was she trying to be polite by acting oblivious, or was it mere ignorance on her part?

 _She devours many nightmares during her line of work_ … Sagume thinks to herself, absently drumming her fingers against the yin-yang orb still in her arms. The little iron spheres were her most loyal companions in the tiring time she spent alone, perched onto one of the rooftops of the capital. They buzzed around her like little worker bees, slicing through the air with their sudden, erratic movements. However, perhaps the reason for her attachment to them was the way they shared physical pain, a cruel albeit powerful incentive to micro-manage the drone-like orbs.

Even without the savage tactic, she viewed them as her own little disorderly flock, probably out of force of habit - after all, white herons lived in groups. However, her own views mattered not; the capital was after all, obsessed with efficiency, and by extension – so was Sagume herself. It was a vice she forever regretted having, one that was screaming at her to go to sleep already, knowing her superiors would unceremoniously drag her out of bed a few hours later.

Therefore, she closed her eyes, pulled the blankets closer, and silently longed for company.

* * *

With a flick of her wrist, the gateway is sealed.

Life returns to its initial course, and the 2-duplet sine wave to disrupt her dream work is no more. Inhaling deeply, Doremy adjusts her hat and turns towards the cotton-candy stained expanse of the dream world with a smile that quickly falters. She could already feel the soon to come stomachache simply by looking at the sheer amount of stagnated nightmares to plague the world, but she had a job to do. It was the only job she had, actually – besides her pillow-selling gig, but that was a side job. Therefore, she dutifully swiped a dream spirit from where it bounced near her arm, and got ready to get to the night’s work.

Carefully examining the unpleasant dream, there appears to be heavenly bodies within; nine suns, to be precise. The image fizzles as it attempts to lurch out of her grasp before she takes a big bite off the body, rolling her eyes at the audacity of these things. As usual, its taste wasn’t too bad; it was a rather enjoyable nightmare, a strong sweet flavour with a smooth texture – much like the earthly concept of cotton candy, but much slimier. The soul is no more in a couple more bites, and she finds herself wondering what the imagery represented. Doremy couldn’t mull over every single nightmare, that was true, but she would be lying if she said the misty similes she saw within the little pink piles of slop didn’t pique her interest. Perhaps she could go through her book of records some other time, during the day…

“Well, if it isn’t Doremy Spicy herself.”

“It’s Sweet- Wait a minute…” Cutting her automatic response short, Doremy turns around to stand face to face with a familiar individual. Planets on chains, redhead, terrible fashion choice. It could only mean one person. “You, no…” Absently crushing an unfortunate spirit under her foot, she takes a hesitant step back. She’s had enough terrible experiences with the goddess of hell to amount for six lifetimes. Clearly, fate wanted her to amount for three more. “Listen here, I don’t have any lunarians. Leave my world alone or I’ll devour your will to live.” She points a finger at the redhead to punctuate her frail threat, and the other chuckles.

“I’m not here for those frenzied germ-phobic cowards. Why are you so tense?” The goddess of hell, better known as Hecatia Lapislazuli, shrugs, causing the two planets at her side to bounce slightly. Doremy had seen her battle the shrine maiden as an ally of the vindictive spirit Junko, and their battle had disturbed many dream souls from their dormant state. In fact, it was _her_ fault that Doremy is in this chaos.

“A deity of the purgatory sneaking up on you isn’t exactly a good omen, you know.”

“Just be grateful it isn’t one of those kishins. They’re not the kindest regarding this type of slacking… especially when you allow the dreams of some of the most dangerous hell citizens run unchecked-”

“I was interrupted by an all out war in my domain! And it was you guys’ fault with that vengeance deal; I had nothing to do with it but you roped me in anyway-” With another agitated bite into its body, Doremy throws the spirit in her hand over her shoulder, and it melts into nothingness.

“Didn’t that Lunarian ‘rope’ you in first?” Hecatia points out, relishing in the flustered expression she gets as a response, before the Baku reaches out for another spirit. The alien sky of the Kaian Passageway beckons forth, the familiar shape of her humble home standing out sharply against the magenta nebula, but Doremy knows it’s futile to avoid the goddess of hell. No matter where she scurries off to, Hecatia will be there waiting for her with the sweetest, sickliest of smiles. Sighing, the dream ruler busies herself with the squirming soul in her hand and gives in to the other’s patient humming.

She wasn’t really in the mood to talk about Sagume either.

“It’s not a matter of whom or what got involved first; my realm is still in shambles. I really don’t have the time for your hellish matters anyway.”

Hecatia fakes a gasp, brows raised comically. “You don’t miss my company? Gee, I thought we had the best of times in our little tug of war… until you lost to my bullet barrage, of course.” She snorts, watching the dream ruler munch angrily on a clay-coloured nightmare.

“So, you’ve come to rub that loss in? How courteous of you, really.” Doremy mumbles, through a mouthful of childhood trauma, to which the deity of hell shakes her head. Her usually peppy expression turns a tad solemn, the tone shifting noticeably enough for the Baku to take a cautious step closer.

Hecatia clasps her hands together, the polite smile returning to her face once more. “I’m not that kind of person, Miss Sweet. I might be a stern deity of Hell, but I am not cruel.” A dream soul quickly materializes out of thin air, formed from the remains of another that already has fallen victim to Doremy earlier, and attempts to flee with its ghostly tail waving behind it.

It swims through the atmosphere past one of the globes hanging off Hecatia’s hat, the goddess of hell merely watching it scurry off, and the dream ruler sputters, an incredulous look replacing her frustration. Her hands were already reaching for the soul, but they drop to her sides as she groans. “Whatever, it’s just one spirit out of thousands. Not like you lending a hand would've helped.”

“I’m afraid I’ve come to ask you to hunt down the likes of that spirit specifically.”

“What- I’m not an on-demand dream service!” The Baku said, hands balling into indignant fists.

“Yes, I am aware of that.” Hecatia’s form blurs around the edges for a second, before a reflection of her separates from her physical form, effortlessly capturing the spirit, and returning it to Doremy before vanishing into dust. “I’m also aware of the downsides that accompany asking favors of you, but I fear that I have no other option at my disposal.”

The Dream ruler doesn’t reply, but the deepness of her frown lessens. “You really aren't messing around, huh?”

Hecatia simply shrugs in response, failing to keep up the courteous smile anymore. "Unfortunately."

"Well, it's not free. I'm sure you know that too already." Holding up her book, the tome eerily glows with a purple hue, as the pages start to flip on their own before settling on one with a row of names on it. Realizing what she needs to offer up - all her hopes, dreams, and of course nightmares - the deity of hell takes a step forward to seal the deal, her finger landing conveniently on-

"'Clownpiece'?" Doremy's brows arch when she reads the name, with an uncharacteristic scoff to punctuate her sentence.

Hecatia rolls her eyes. "She wouldn't notice the difference, you know how fairies are."

Still a bit on the fence, the dream ruler marks the name and shuts the book with a particularly loud _pomf_ , watching as a few point souls instantaneously shift color into a solemn red. "There ya go, top of my priority list." She tucks her dream book in a hidden pocket, keeping an eye on the still chaotic dreamscape, making the mistake of getting distracted. "But you better stop intruding here like this, it's truly-"

However, Hecatia is already gone. Doremy's brows rise, but her sentence remains unfinished. After all, nobody was around to hear it - and these spirits were food, not companionship. Drifting through the dreamscape, her workload is still beckoning, demanding her undivided attention. Her own rest was long overdue, but it didn't stop her work from monopolizing her time anyway. And she had a new task to look forward to as well. How **wonderful**.

This was going to give her the worst stomachache later.


	2. Chapter 2

Eirin Yagokoro is very wise. Being a sage of the moon was a position with extremely high requirements, ones she herself set before departing to be with the fugitive princess. Some may claim she was under a spell, or even may tell you she was under duress, but none could call her insane for leaving behind Luna's towering spires and glistening towers in favor of the extravagant, wooden mansion she resides in. After all, Lady Yagokoro was very wise - more clever and composed than the entire High Council put together. A valuable asset to the capital seemingly lost to the temptations of impurity.

To say the lunar capital fell out of grace in her absence would come across as an exaggeration to most lunarians – hell, they’re more likely to claim its utter nonsense, and that she never left, especially with the officials’ record of accomplishment in hiding any less-than-stellar events from the public – however, nothing could be closer to the truth. After all, nothing was pleasant when everyone was lying out of sheer desire to stay on top. Lying to themselves, to others, to fate, and to the universe.

Sagume should be used to it at this point, especially with her condemned to be eternally a verbal hypocrite in a sense, but she wasn’t anywhere near that point. For the second time in years, the lunarian spirit found that she was missing the presence of her once-mentor. Despite the fact she and Lady Yagokoro had tea a few weeks ago, nothing of vital importance had transpired between them, and it left her feeling somewhat empty. Part of her wanted to say more, but that part had a history of yearning for any sort of speech at the worst times, merely out of some desire to express itself. Also, what else could she have said?

She had patiently thanked the sage for intervening as she saw proper, reported on the state of the capital – making a point of avoiding verbalizing anything about the then-ongoing siege – and then left without any needless chitchat. Any sane person would’ve done the same.

So why does this emotion keep gnawing at her chest?

A particularly loud thump from outside broke through her intellection like a rock through a window, and she felt herself snap out of a haze. Confused, she blinks before quickly glancing around the room in an attempt to see what caused such a noise - only to find out it was just a fallen icicle crashing onto her windowsill, thankfully not damaging the wood. Leaning back in her chair, she looks over the once unfamiliar scenery of her small, cold, yet cozy office, attempting to remember what she was doing before spacing off. Mentally recapping her day, she taps the pen along the desk in a steady rhythm.

She woke up three minutes late, sent the physical copy of her report to the sages' archives, unceremoniously knocked into a rabbit on her way through the door, and had a disastrously terrible time reporting to the council... Right, she had to calculate the approximate amount of damages. Sagume pushes the pen aside gently shuffling around a few papers on her desk, once Eiri- Lady Yagokoro's, and glanced towards a cup of tea, definitely meant for her, nearly filled to the brim with the ice cold liquid.

Sagume frowned, remembering she actually had a craving for tea earlier, before her gaze moved towards the digital clock hanging on the opposing wall. The pale neon numbers flicker gently, but the slowly ticking minutes offer her a small comfort to anchor her perception on. 

It was midday already, but that didn’t surprise her. Despite having strangely long daytimes, on the moon every second was precious. Sleeping was merely a pastime of habits long unnecessary for most of the higher residents, but the night was kept around for the lesser lunarians and of course, the rabbits. However, the sun was near eternal, a way to accommodate the lavish endeavors of the capital's residents - and it was almost a sin in the capital's eyes to be wasteful of such a luxury.

She must've really spaced out there, _terribly counterproductive, completely unacceptable_ , she thinks, a hand finding its place on her forehead as the other's fingers drum against the desk. Why was her mind so insistent on dragging her through the past today? She had more important things to do, but with her mind constantly drawn towards such a strange fixation, what seemed to be a simple report was starting to feel much more burdening. Was her subconscious trying to tell her something?

Before she can mull over it any longer, a nimble girl with fluffy rabbit ears opens the door with an elbow, a large stack of marked papers in her hands. "Lady Sagume! The border reports you asked for are here!" She calls with a peppy tone, her black bangs bouncing along. The lunarian goddess nods, and the rabbit takes it as her cue, placing the hefty stack onto the desk and heaving a sigh as her glasses slide a little along the bridge of her nose. "28 guard towers, 15 outposts and ten foot patrols have reported in today. Seems like everyone's excited to work after a good night's sleep."

Sagume had seen her scurry about before, when she had gone to the palace upon Yorihime's request, many, many nights ago. The name Mikan was frequently tossed around, in-between tense glances towards the windows. She remembers the boiling anxiety below the princess' calm voice, the sheer disbelief on her face when Sagume assured her everything was under control. Of course, the swordswoman had no idea of what the lunarian had in mind, but it was for the best. After all, least said, soonest mended. The memories flicker like a distorted transmission, and the goddess feels a little too conscious of how long it's been since she's seen the Watatsuki princess - or anyone other than Doremy, for that fact.

Almost four thousand, three hundred and sixty hours had passed in frozen, near unbroken silence. It felt so... bizarre to think about.

Sagume's focus returns to her desk, and her brows furrow, feeling the workload already casting its shadows on her as she inspected the papers. The only time she saw a rabbit excited for anything, it involved copious amounts of plummeting someone into the ground - and it was the soldier who fell to earth. Despite her disapproval, she understood the other's reasoning; if it weren’t so dangerous for her, she would've taken care of the fairies surrounding the border a long time ago.

The black-haired one remains standing at attention, waiting for further orders as protocol mandates. While Sagume wished she could get time alone, Mikan being around would surely assist in avoiding any more distractions. While she'd done some errands for the goddess before, the glasses-wearing rabbit was still not very accustomed to working with Sagume in her line of duty, unlike the goddess’ assigned assistant, another rabbit with floppy ears and bushy brown hair – her name had the same ring as Horou, but wasn’t it – but that was to be expected.

After all, Mikan was used to training for the defense corps from what the goddess saw, grueling and demanding physical work, not this... this glorified paperwork which nobody showed any appreciation for, except maybe the sages. That, if they were gracious enough to say anything remotely not callous. The average lunarian would probably be savoring their nigh-eternal life and eating mochi on a balcony or something instead of slaving away at a desk. However, that was irrelevant. "15 outposts?"

"About that, ma'am... outpost 16 has been suffering from a power outage for a few weeks now." Her ears seem to droop to some extent as she informs the lunarian, whose brows rise slightly without her eyes leaving the paper. Patiently browsing through the multitude of reports, Sagume clicks her tongue. “Should’ve fixed it then.”

The short statement knocks the poor rabbit off-guard, who gulps to maintain her composure before racking her mind for something to say. They did say the goddess was tricky to work with, but having to be the bearer of bad news was a little too much for her poor nerves. How was she supposed to explain it? Lady Sagume should've known about this, she talked to the princesses yesterday - for gods’ sake!

Mikan stutters before answering, intimated by the piercing glare the lunarian held. "W-we couldn't get a hold of the power cables, Lady Sagume.” The aforementioned one’s mind seemed to slow to a crawl as the rabbit kept talking, her frail answer falling apart, the kanji on the page blending together like a literary soup. _Dammit, focus. This isn’t like you._ “The impurity levels past the capital's borders have been off the charts, so Lady Yorihime told us to merge the crews of said outposts together until you... could... strategize the defense structure in a way that accommodates the facility shortage." She slowly feels herself wane under the unseen pressure as a deep sigh from the goddess makes its way into the open air, briefly materializing as a cloud.

Sagume closes her eyes briefly to concentrate as well as calm the throbbing pain in her head. A few minutes pass as she feels the tension quickly leave her mind, and the stinging around the corners of her eyes stop. She knows the rabbit – whom she couldn't care less for really – is going to have to inform Yorihime of the next course of action after this, knowing that the princess is as bound to the chain of command as she is, adding more to her endless list of duties. The silence quietly sets in like a layer of cobwebs, much like the ones forming around her train of thought. Even after it was long over, she wasn't rid of that ghastly invasion's effects.

"Curse this..." Sagume whispers under her breath, hands curling into fists. She frowns, remembering the need to keep her composure, before inhaling deeply; feeling eyes on her, and opens her eyes to catch the black-haired one peering at her with slight worry. Mikan jolts back into her military posture, mumbling panicked apologies before Sagume gestures for her to quiet down. "Thank you for your assistance. You may depart."

The order seems to put the rabbit at ease, as she lets out a breath the lunarian didn't note she was holding. She turns to leave, definitely to get back to her own duties, before pausing - hand on the doorknob. She's been visibly twitching since she'd come in, something the lunarian chalked down to the chain of command, but it was even more apparent now. "...Lady Sagume?" The lunarian quietly hums in response, already filing away paperwork, and the black-haired one fidgets at the door, seemingly pondering something, before speaking in a barely audible whisper - almost as if she's afraid of someone eavesdropping. "... are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" The mechanical response feels particularly difficult to get out, but it sates Mikan's inquiry and she sees herself out without any more words - leaving the lunarian alone with her thoughts again. Staring at the space where the rabbit once stood, Sagume inhales deeply, expecting to hear departing footsteps but getting none. A minute passes, then another, then another- and the lunarian gets out of her seat, pacing towards the door - swinging it open to find an empty corridor.

The lights quietly buzz overhead, faintly illuminating her - the only lifeform in the hallway. Glancing both ways, her gaze turns towards the fluorescent lights, watching them flicker briefly before returning to her desk, making a note to keep the door open. _It's just exhaustion_. Sagume thinks, shaking the doubts out of her head. _She probably is light on her feet - all rabbits are. It's fine. I'm fine._

Her pen is once again flying across the page, the cogs of her mind forcing themselves to rotate again. They could reactivate the purification beam to clear the building, but it was far too demanding to be used for a singular post - and the impurity could possibly endanger any teams before they could even reach the outpost... Trying to concentrate back on her work, she notices her reflection in the cup of tea, piercing red eyes narrowed in exhaustion, a deep exasperated frown on her face and a silent mix of distaste and frustration carved into her features. Despite getting some sleep - a fitful rest, but a rest nonetheless - the night before, she still felt drained out of every speck of energy. The cold tea itself was like a mockery of her work conduct, silently scorning her for how much time she’s wasted. Making sure to check for any details she's missed, Sagume acknowledges the many possibilites they could utilize to help recover the adjacent areas to the capital, before tossing her pen down and letting it roll off to the side.

She definitely looked not okay.

She didn't feel okay either.

* * *

After sending through her report and sitting through a few hours of inactivity, the goddess decides to take a walk. The cool air was breezing through the streets at an erratic pace, making her hair sway slightly with every gust. She didn't mind the cold, it posed a sharp contrast to the burning ache on the front of her mind - more comforting than inconveniencing. Some rabbits walk past, quietly chatting amongst themselves, stopping occasionally to glance at the lunarian with curiosity. It wasn't usual to see a politician of her caliber in public, and Sagume was far too aware of the hushed whispers erupting from the denizens who caught sight of her. She usually paid no heed to what their words entailed, but she'd give anything to send them all back to the Dream World right now. With attempting to resettle into the capital's communal routine, and the added burden of exhaustion, her work wasn't going anywhere and it frustrated her to no avail.

Her legs carry her further into the Capital’s outskirts, treading carelessly over dew-speckled grass. Looking around, Sagume can see peach trees engulfed in mist, as well as the still reflective surface of a nearby lake. Slowly drinking in her surroundings, the lunarian starts harboring regrets. _What a way to spend my sanctioned time off, looking at trees and water. As if there weren't enough of those to gawk at when I had the whole capital to myself._

A flapping intrusion disturbs the calm atmosphere, and when she glances towards the source of it, two beady black eyes stare back. The heron flaps its wings, splashing water as it lands onto the surface of the lake, pecking at its right wing - probably to scratch an itch. They lock gazes for a while; the heron unfolding its neck to get a better look at the goddess before it, and Sagume cocking her head in accord. It's the first to break eye contact - opting to pace around the lake, occasionally splashing water as it makes a cry that oddly sounds similar to a gurgle. It seems to be enjoying itself, washing in the crystal clear water - happy cries attracting even more herons to the lake.

It's strangely a civil sight, they almost can pass off as little lunarians having a friendly get-together, all that they lacked were the peaches, really. The bird from earlier takes to the sky, carefully perching on the branch of a nearby peach tree, flapping the droplets of water off its wings and opting to watch its flock frolic. It's calming, comforting, nice even - but she still can't seem to regain any sort of energy. Maybe she could rest up earlier, if she could take the remainder of the day off.

"Lady Kishin! Didn't expect to see you here." Gaze flickering downwards upon hearing the words, Sagume's tight-strung tiredness meets Watatsuki no Toyohime's pleasant smile. She was sitting cross-legged against the trunk of a nearby tree, watching the yellow-beaked birds frolic at the lake. When the blonde princess takes a better look at the goddess; noting the bags under the other's eyes, her waning posture, and the distaste pouring like acid from her expression, Toyohime's brows rise slightly as her lips form a little 'o'. "Oh my. You don't look very stellar. Did the meeting not go well?"

"That's not it." The Lunar goddess mutters, a bit more forceful than usual before she catches herself. It's no use to break her composure here and now, all that she'd gain would be disaster.

"Come sit with me then, we haven't had a chat in ages." Toyohime pats the grass next to her, patiently waiting for Sagume to come over. "Or we can just sit here and uh... not talk. At all." She quickly adds as the other sits next to her, hands folded neatly in her lap. A few minutes pass in mutual silence, before the princess unceremoniously bites into - you guessed it, a peach. Perhaps purity also means never getting sick of things. "You know, one of Yorihime's rabbit trainees came over earlier. Poor thing looked like she'd pass out on the spot." Sagume stayed quiet, eyes darting to read Toyohime's expression - a pseudo-calm attitude that did little to mask the little hint of concern. "She told me you were tired but I didn't expect it to be this bad."

"It's nothing."

"You could rest, you know. This is the first moment of calm anyone's gotten in the past year or so."

The goddess hums with a small shrug, looking back at the birds as the atmosphere grew denser. “I couldn't neglect my duties.” she would've added the words "surely you understand", but something told her the other wouldn't relate to her experiences. After all, Toyohime hardly had any weight to tug around, gliding through her life like a whitetip shark on a warm current.

“Couldn’t neglect your duties, huh? Sounds like something Yori would say.” The princess shakes her head, before taking another bite out of her fruit. "Perhaps we **were** better off actually constructing a summer home on Earth, I can already think of a few people who could use an extended vacation."

“That planet isn't as leisurely as it may seem, you know.”

"Anything's leisurely if you're approaching it the right way."

"Anything, you say?" Sagume parrots, a tad incredulous.

"Anything. Even pressing, troubling matters like Junko's fruitless 'invasions'."

The winged lunarian grumbles in distaste at the mention of the sagacious spirit, memories of endless hordes of fairies floating to the forefront of her mind. It left a bad taste in her mouth. "I already got my fair share of those. Thanks, but no thanks."

Blinking, the princess opens her mouth to respond - but can't seem to find her words anymore. Sagume looks away, regretting the slip-up already as Toyohime turns towards the lake, gaze seemingly searching for a way to salvage the conversation, but she doesn’t press further. Fog was crawling outwards from the capital, soon to clear over the rarely visited areas of the moon, and Sagume knew that meant the avians would need to depart for their nests soon if they were to hide from the dropping temperatures. They were lazing at the bank of the lake for now, comfortable with pecking at the mirror-like body of water in search of prey that doesn't exist and flapping their wings every once in a while. It was serene, peaceful, a sharp contradiction to her inner turmoil.

On one hand, she couldn’t hold it against the princess for trying to make friendly conversation, but on the other, speaking was never her forte. She fiddles with her hands for a minute, before Toyohime stands up and brushes off her dress, carelessly tossing away the seed left from her snack. Her expression seems to have wilted slightly, the calm air she carried around her growing uncomfortably stale. “Say, have you been outside the borders recently?” She looked like she was purposefully avoiding the other lunarian’s eyes, perhaps wary of the dangerous implications her question - while innocent in its nature - held. Yet, assumptions have brought calamity into Sagume’s life before, and she was not going to have a repeat of that. She curiously peers up at the blonde, who adjusts her hat before giving Sagume a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I'm just curious is all.”

“No, I haven’t.”

A pleasant hum is what she gets in response, allaying her concerns. She might’ve been unhelpful, but at least no unwanted long-term impacts came from her words. “Well, there’s not much to see there anyway minus the Sea of Tranquility, and I've already been there today. I don’t see why anyone would head out in such strange weather - except for the both of us, I suppose.” The princess leans back against the tree, sighing - her breath forming a little cloud in the frosty air.

"I suppose the sea was shrouded by its own fair share of mist."

“It was truly a unique sight - even if I couldn't see anything at all!" Toyohime spares a giggle, absently waving her fan. "Despite that, there’s something nice about this eccentric fog, but I can’t put my finger on it…” The princess falls silent, just as Sagume notices a distant figure approaching from the haze. She stands up, unsure of what to do other than watch as it slowly inches closer. The figure’s head turns slightly, and it seems to notice them - quickening its pace with a concerning haste.

"Toyo? Is that you?" As the curious call reached them, the blonde stopped fanning herself to call over the new arrival. "Who else could it be, sis?" She responds, rolling her eyes - not like the other princess could see it anyway. Toyohime reaches up to pick a low-hanging peach from one of the tree's branches, offering it to the goddess who politely refuses. Sagume never had a taste for the fruit, or anything except for tea and dango, but she appreciated the gesture regardless. Shrugging, the princess just throws it in her sister's direction instead, managing to blindly toss it at a perfect curve into the other's hands.

Yorihime looks unamused, but that's to be expected. The lavender-haired swordswoman doesn't seem to notice Sagume, her accusatory gaze trained on her sister. "What are you doing out here alone? We were supposed to stay near the palace. Together."

"You were taking so long to get ready, Yori..."

"It's dangerous to venture out in such weather conditions! I can barely see my hand in front of me - let alone any assassins that might come after us. Do you not realize how vulnerable you were just lounging here all by yourself?"

"But I'm not alone, see? Lady Kishin's here."

"You can't be serious, she isn't going to constantly cover everyone's a-" Yorihime starts to protest before she finally notices the goddess, jaw snapping shut so quickly her teeth audibly click. "Ah... Lady Kishin. Is here. Oh god - please excuse my - Toyohime didn't mean what she... I mean... I -"

"Ah Yorihime, you can be so tense sometimes. We were just having a friendly chat, she won't bite your head off."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She mutters, disgruntled, shooting Toyohime looks that could effortlessly slay a school of sharks. There's an uncertainty in her eyes as she glances towards Sagume, that faded as quickly as it appeared. “Regardless, this doesn’t excuse your behavior, sis…”

“Eh, it didn’t hurt anyone as far as I can tell.” The blonde waves it off, fanning herself in the process, much to Yorihime’s expectant dismay. She doesn’t seem to understand the cause of her sister’s concern, and glances towards Sagume - seemingly for advice, who blinks when addressed. The goddess had been already distracted by a heron curiously pecking at her boot, much to its amusement. “Don’t you agree?”

Clearly unwilling to meddle in this sisterly quarrel, Sagume searches for the right thing to say. Yorihime’s expression was silently pleading with her not to enable the other’s reckless attitude, mouthing a ‘no’ when Toyohime wasn’t looking. But then again, the older Watatsuki had a point when she said her sister needed space to maneuver through the tight hold her responsibilities held on her… albeit a convoluted logic.

It eluded Sagume just how sneaking away would not crank up the younger one’s stress to eleven, despite achieving the goal of getting her away from her duties. If it were up to her, she’d leave the two princesses to it - they had the gift of free speech, might as well put it to good use - but with their expectant looks waiting for her, the goddess nearly breaks a sweat.

Nearly. 

“Lead by example.” 

_Take that as you may, Watatsuki_ , she thinks, watching them share a look. The older sister seems to ponder the words for a few seconds, before a grin breaks onto her face.

“See, she agrees with me~”

_Take it any way but that._

“Toyohime, I don’t think that’s what she meant...” the lavender-haired woman interjects gently, to which Sagume nods. However, her sister’s light giggles dance in the frosty air, her cheerfulness completely unfazed.

“Oh sister, when have I ever set any other example? You yourself said that on more than one occasion.”

The swordswoman sighs, before begrudgingly biting into the peach in her hands - exasperated by such an attitude. Was this a common thing between them? “Don't sell yourself short Toyo, even if you lead a carefree walk of life... Not only do the capital’s emissaries rely on you, but you’re crucial to off planet relations-”

“Poor sis, always thinking about work… It’s grown like a moss onto your mind, Yo-chan!”

The younger Watatsuki nearly chokes on the fruit, taken aback by the endearing nickname. “I-I’m not ‘Yo-chan’.”

“You are~” Toyohime smiles, lightly patting her sister's head. "Precious little Yo-chan, always worrying about big sis." She giggles as Yorihime's face turns a bright shade of red, feebly swatting the other’s hand away to protest the gesture. Sagume watches them squabble amongst one another with such childish fervor, noting how they seem so… undomesticated. A sharp contrast to the strict, tame Lunarian society. It was strangely a welcome change from what she was used to seeing. "I won't be quitting my position any time soon, so don't worry about it~" 

“W-we need to return to the palace, don’t we? Everyone’s busy looking for you. Come on, sis!”

“I suppose we do…” Toyohime hides a smirk behind her fan, but it still shows in her playful tone. “It’s been nice seeing you again, Lady Kishin!”

“Same goes for both of you.” She feels a soft wave of relief wash over her, knowing that the minor crisis of hers was avoided. Yorihime tugs on her sister’s sleeve as she leads the way, still a bit flustered and getting more and more antsy by the minute - surely thinking of her own duties lying about unfinished. Noting that the sky was starting to dim into an inky blue, Sagume decides it’s time to return to the capital. While this small walk has been an improvement to her frayed nerves, the one-winged lunarian was still looking forward to getting a night of uninterrupted sleep. As Sagume walks back towards the capital's outskirts, she mulls over the other's 'innocent question' with a newfound curiosity of her own. Why would the area past the borders pique Toyohime's interest?

While she - like most lunarians - only heard a cover-up story about the escalation in conflict, the older Watatsuki still had little reason to mind their little "off-planet operation". She spends most of her time watching her sister train the rabbits, picking peaches, and maybe doing a task or two of her own whenever the capital remembered emissaries were a thing.

She would've expected it from Yorihime - the younger princess' diligence was near-unhealthy at times, but it served its purpose well so none of the higher-ups complained much. Perhaps, there was more to Toyohime other than the relaxed, cheerful demeanor of hers, but Sagume didn't have the energy to really picture it. Someone like her wouldn't probably know what hardships feel like, would they? Whatever it was, she wasn't going to tackle it when her mind was helplessly shrouded with fog. 

The streets are near-vacant as she makes her way back, something she's a little grateful for. The marble pathways are painted with shadows as what remaining shopkeepers close up, while some cart off their wares. Two rabbit guards are watching over the building where she lives, and they politely greet her as she passes by. However, as she unlocks the door to her private quarters, Sagume feels as if something is amiss. The dark, minimalistic home doesn't seem to have changed while she was gone, but she's just as wary as she navigates the living room, steps light and near-silent. A soft whine can be heard from the direction of her bedroom, where she left that one orb this morning. She'd planned on disabling its sentry mode earlier, but her report got in the way. However, the noise spelled out a distinct alert that her senses concurred with.

An impure being had infiltrated her home. 


End file.
